Currency News: UK daily forex news and forecasts

The US DOLLAR has been the major winner on the day as institutional investors continue to shun equities and move into safe havens. This has taken the GBP USD exchange rate down to 1.5792. There could be further upside to come for the Greenback, as this afternoon’s US labour market data disappointed. This means that the USD heads into tomorrow on a NEUTRAL TO POSITIVE footing. It was another ‘bad news day’ for the EURO...

The Bank of England Governor Mervyn King called an instant halt to the Pound’s recent bull-run in the currency markets during yesterday’s session, when he announced that the Bank was slashing its UK growth forecast for 2012 by a third, from the previous 1.2% to a paltry 0.8%. King blamed the announcement on the threat to the British economy from the deepening eurozone debt crisis, observing that the region was ‘tearing...

The Bank of England slashed its forecast for UK growth for this year from 1.2% to 0.8% earlier today, hitting the POUND STERLING. With the UK tender riding high at the top if its recent range against a host of currencies, a broad move to the downside is possible, meaning that GBP heads towards tomorrow’s session on a NEUTRAL TO NEGATIVE footing. The EURO has suffered once again today, as fears increase that Greece may be...

Yesterday morning’s European session offered a timely reminder of why a significant proportion of the global investment community are still willing to hold euro-denominated assets, when the region’s leading economic power, Germany, released its latest GDP growth data. The figures revealed that German economic activity had expanded by an impressive 0.5% in the first three months of this year – well ahead of expectations of a...

The POUND STERLING has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons today. By the middle part of this afternoon’s European session, Sterling was the worst-performing of all of the sixteen most-actively traded currencies, thanks to this morning’s weak UK trade balance data. The Pound is expected to trade on a NEUTRAL TO NEGATIVE footing moving forward. The EURO received a much-needed fillip on the day with the release of...

The ongoing soap opera which is the Greek debt crisis took several twists and turns during yesterday’s session in the markets. The most significant development on the day came in the form of an announcement from the leaders of the ‘socialist light’ Democratic Left party which revealed that they would not enter into any coalition government which did not include the hard-line anti-bailout Syriza bloc. Ultimately, the decision...

The EURO has been downsold once again in the markets today. Market participants have shunned the single currency thanks to concerns over rising Spanish bond yields and ongoing uncertainty regarding the future make-up of Greece’s government. This has taken the GBP EUR exchange rate as high as 1.2555 on the day. The euro is expected to trade on a NEGATIVE footing moving forward. The POUND STERLING has hoovered up support during...

Friday’s Asian session saw the release of data which provided further evidence that the Chinese economy is expanding at a slower pace. The annualised Industrial Production figure registered at 9.3%, versus an anticipated 12.2%. This showing was the lowest level that Chinese industrial output had expended by for some three years. Chinese Retail Sales numbers, also released on Friday printed at a year-on-year 14.7%, down from the...

The European Commission announced earlier today that it expects the eurozone economy to shrink by 0.3% this year, heaping the pressure on the troubled EURO. However, the Spanish government’s announcement that it will be making additional funds available to bolster the liquidity of the debt-burdened state’s retail banks has helped stem the losses for the single currency, which is expected to trade on a NEUTRAL TO NEGATIVE...

Sterling received a significant boost in the middle part of yesterday’s session, as the Bank of England announced that it would not be altering the UK’s monetary policy. The gains which followed the statement suggested that a significant proportion of market participants had been factoring-in an extension to the Bank’s existing £325bn Quantitative Easing scheme. The factor which tipped the balance against an increase to the...